that's the thing that gets me about the press release. It said "Selina Kyle" not "Catwoman". Plus there was a rumor of a female VILLAIN as well as a female love interest. It's possible that Selina is just the love interest, not the villain since she has been seen more as the morally flexible, flirtatious anti-heroine of the Batman mythos.

Bane I'll see with it, but I think Nolan will just write him as a criminal mastermind with a bit of a steroid problem. When Bane was introduced he was quite intelligent, not some mindless thug. I will trust Nolan on this and let him do his thing because I doubt he'd disrespect characters unlike SOME screenwriters.

Me and my friends flipped shit about Bane, the idea of a character badass enough to cripple the bat is definately something worth seeing in Nolan's Bat-verse. And it wouldn't be hard to have him as a criminal mastermind who functions as his own leg breaker. And with the gap left in Gothams crime world at the end of The Dark Knight, Bane could easily become top dog. And, while i know this will piss off a lot of people, i want Rises to end with a paraplegic Batman

As I put in my post on the announcement of this... I'm expecting Azrial to make an appearance or at least hoping. I mean, what a way to finish off the Batman ark, having Batman fighting another Batman who has started to go over the top and needs to be brung down. As another poster observed, in Dark Knight we had those costume vigilantes trying to be like Batman... That could have been leading up to something here. I'm very optimistic about this... Though my theory could be wrong... I think it would be one hell of a film if it was right.

Well, with Bane, if they make him an actual genius and not the sort of grunting thug on super-steroids he was in the Batman and Robin movie, he could be the Anti-Batman. Imagine someone who has the same sort of assists that Bruce Wayne has, but does him one better, with his exoskeleton being more powerful/more efficient/what have you. Or ir amps up his native strength as well, which is where the "amped on super-steroids" thing comes in.

Or have him come in as a competitor to Bruce Wayne, and his criminal background means he's also fighting a secret war on the Gotham Crime Scene. But not to fight crime, but to take over all the various gangs and syndicates and have them work for him... Combine that with the above (Bane being the Super-Genius that he is) and you could possibly set up Bruce Wayne Batman as the underdog, where he'll have to put his native cunning and intelligence to work and can't just rely on his tech to kick butt and take names.

And Batman finds out about this because of Selina Kyle. He takes her down, and she is like, I'm already getting grief from this Bane Character, and now you have to come down on me, too? Perhaps Bats ends up using her as his eye on his competition, looking for any advantage he can get or manufacture to overcome Bane...

I really don't trust Nolan to give us a decent interpretation of Catwoman. I mean, considering that the previous two movies had a total of one female character, who noone liked, and who was there primarily for the men to fight over, be threatened, tossed out of a window and eventually killed. She had no role of her own, except to provide various forms of motivation for the male characters.

Sure, it's likely to be a step up from Frank 'whoreswhoreswhores' Miller, but that's not saying much.

I have been saying Selina Kyle would be in this third film ever since I finished Dark Knight. Batman is now perceived as the anti-hero, and with the other love interest gone, he needs a new woman there to help him spiral down into even more of a dark Batman.

Then again, I was also saying that the Harvey Dent funeral was a mock up and that Two Face was locked in Arkham awaiting the third film as well.

The "Trust Nolan" mantra is still a good one to follow. He hasn't done wrong by anyone yet, and he can make thought provoking films (I am still referring to Memento and not Inception). He also knows that Bane is more than just a hulking side kick (the second Batcave that they chilled in was a throwback to the cleanup of Knightfall where Wayne set up multiple Batcaves throughout Gotham in order to combat crime quicker and easier). I am half hoping that he does decimate Batman, give the next guy in line a tough setup.

I have a feeling (WARNING: Incoming Opinion based on absolutely nothing but idle speculation) that Nolan was going for something of a "Batman vs. his Dark Mirror" type scenario, but when he came across DC's actual "anti-Batman," Prometheus, he probably decided to simply make Bane, based on Moviebob's aforementioned background of the character, the new "anti-Batman." Bane's more widely known than Prometheus and (imho) a much better character. I don't see the Venom steroid playing too much of a part, mostly due to the tragedy that was Batman and Robin and the fact that Venom played a major role in the much lauded Batman: Arkham Asylum.

I'm still a little confused regarding the casting of Tom Hardy as Bane... but I was also skeptical (very skeptical) of him casting Heath Ledger as the Joker. I'll wait to hear more before forming an opinion on this particular issue.

Cat woman in modern days is seen as an ally to batman tho, and a romantic interest. I wonder which way nolan will play it, maybe a more anti bat catwoman at the start, bane kicks the living hell out of batman, maybe does not break his back entirely. Town goes to hell in a handcart and catwoman picks up the "good" mantle, her and bats take down bane.

Bane is sort of an interesting character in that he kicked off a long roller coaster of "breaking the bat" in fact he literally broke him, coming closer than any character of physically breaking him, most every other trial of breaking batman has been mental, darkseed, the black hand/mask or wth ever they called themselves, the joker throughout the years over and over, but bane stands out as one of the very few that challenged the bat physically. Killer croc maybe on a good day but croc seems way out of the realm of nolans gritty "real" world, especially if he balked at using the penguin. Bane also has smarts, lest in some of his arcs that croc lacks entirely, making him more than the raging roid rage hulk that some writers demoted him into. And bane has a rabid obsession with the bat, one thing he shares with the joker, but banes focus is more singular, where the joker would burn the whole city down to get at batman.

And in a world where a guy dresses like a bat, and his nemisis dresses like clown, it does not seem all that far fetched that some girl in a ski mask might thing to fit in dressing like a cat to be a cat burgler would be in fashion for gotham. Bane will be really interesting to see the mask not so much but how nolan handles the whole steroid thing and will bane be digitized to go form average guy to hulking beast when he starts juicing.

Beyond that lets hop nolan has one more homerun to hit for this movie, all the pressure and expectations after tdk cannot be easy to deal with, at this point it is far far easier to fail than it is to succede.

I think both Selina Kyle and Bane could be used as parallels to Batman's character. Two different takes on what Batman could have been, and two different explorations of the darker side of Wayne's motivations and purpose as Batman.

It would be interesting to see Bane done as a more extreme Batman (performance enhancing drugs and deliberately killing), especially if he was more effective at curbing crime than Bat, and Selina done as an extension of Batman's more selfish goals (whatever he does to fund his operations), and whether he is actually doing it for others or himself.

I'm worried about a major female character in a Nolan film too. Still, other films worry me much more in that dimension.

I can see cat woman fitting being just normal enough to fit in to the Nolan universe. The Joker has run amuck, Gotham has changed since the first movie and a woman wearing tight leather or a rubber body suit doesn't seem like it would be two out of place. Remember, Gotham already has one rubber clad person dressed as an animal flying around (batman) and she could see herself as an anti-batman, similar theme and tactics, but used to steal instead of to save people.

As far as Bain, I think you are giving him too little credit. Doomsday came in "killed" superman, and then did absolutely nothing afterward. Also, how he exactly was able to kill superman I have always found suspect. Bain on the other hand did stuff after breaking batman's back. He is on the short list of supervillains who found out batman's identity (with Ras Al Goul and the Riddler) and he spent some time as an anti-villain trying to help batman with Gotham.

But as far as him being in the Nolan movies, yeah I'm surprised. I would be really happy if he did it, seeing a hulk-like guy in the "realistic" Nolan universe would be an awesome juxtaposition, but I don't think he is going to do that.

Anyway, I'm worried about Bane being the (main?) villian. He's just so...comic-y. I was honestly expecting Penguin or Ivy. I feel they could be Nolan-ized pretty well. I just hope Nolan knows what he's doing.

I have never been that gaga over the Nolan Batman films, don't get me wrong they are not bad movies but frankly I don't care for the more realist approach.I hate the fact that Nolan seems almost ashamed to be working with a characters that is rooted 90% in wacky comic book adventures, campy TV series and Saturday morning cartoons.

and it straight up pisses me off that he is denying decades of Batman's history including Villains, Sidekicks, and the retooling of good characters just to fit his own mythos.

heh. When people were dissing Heath Ledger i said "he could surprise you. Wait and see. besides Nolan did a pretty solid reboot with batman begins. Lets have a little faith in him." Now i say...RELAX! Nolan will deliver an awesome movie, he´ll make Bane an awesome cinematic villain.Whoever says Bane sucks will change their minds after seeing the movie. Besides, they chose a good actor to play him. Oh,and Bane is underrated...he´s not just a brute, he´s a serious intellectual threat to the Drak Knight.

Anyway, I'm worried about Bane being the (main?) villian. He's just so...comic-y. I was honestly expecting Penguin or Ivy. I feel they could be Nolan-ized pretty well. I just hope Nolan knows what he's doing.

Bane is 'comicy' but The Penguin and Poison Ivy aren't? Hell, how is Bane more 'comicy' than the Joker, R'as al Ghul and the Scarecrow?

Aiddon:that's the thing that gets me about the press release. It said "Selina Kyle" not "Catwoman".

That was the point I was gonna make, she's cast as Selina Kyle.Though it doesn't mean that she won't also be Catwoman, if you ignore the cat motif and just give her a regular tight black suit, the audience knows who it is, but you get to skirt around the, frankly, more silly aspects of the character.

Anyway, I'm worried about Bane being the (main?) villian. He's just so...comic-y. I was honestly expecting Penguin or Ivy. I feel they could be Nolan-ized pretty well. I just hope Nolan knows what he's doing.

Bane is 'comicy' but The Penguin and Poison Ivy aren't? Hell, how is Bane more 'comicy' than the Joker, R'as al Ghul and the Scarecrow?

Sorry, I'll elaborate. I've had several discussions with a couple of my friends, and we just feel that Penguin and Ivy would be better suited because they could make an easier transition into the Nolan-verse.

Take Ivy for example. In the comics, a genetically modified hottie with power to control plants who wants to destroy Gotham because they mistreat the ecosystem (or something along those lines, never read the comics). In the Nolan-verse, she's a hottie who is knowledgeable in the field of plant life and poisons, and uses this knowledge to poison and kill powerful government workers within Gotham because they mistreat etc.

Bane on the other hand, in the Nolan-verse, he could be a mob boss I guess? Which could be interesting for sure, but I just feel that Ivy or Penguin, or hell even Talia al Ghul are far more interesting characters. Bane just seems one-deminsional.

Now wait a minute, Bane can be done well if written correctly. That admittedly doesn't happen often, but his first appearance in Knightfall and his recent revival in Secret Six show that he can be a good character.

Nolan so far has shown a talent for finding and using the best aspects of the villains in his movies. He gets the villains, even if he obviously doesn't get Robin.

To be honest Catwoman could really do with some radical reworking and if Nolan can work in some of the better "Broken Batman" stuff Bane has in the comics in a timely way then we could be in for a good moive. Comics are weird. As much of the weirdness that can be removed the better.

Tony Murlin:I'm still a little confused regarding the casting of Tom Hardy as Bane... but I was also skeptical (very skeptical) of him casting Heath Ledger as the Joker. I'll wait to hear more before forming an opinion on this particular issue.

Still confused?

The biggest reason why I'm going to watch the third movie is to see Tom Hardy in action. That guy is a fucking treat to watch.

As for how Catwoman will be used to drive the story. Maybe she'll be the seductive, conforting female presence that'll cause Batman to turn to the dark side. His previous love interest is dead and he's become ostracized by the city he swore to protect: Catwoman could just be the last nudge for Batman to give up is morals.

And I never even realized it untill read this article, but there really is absolutely zero amount of sexuality or romance in Nolan's work. That's probably why all his movies are so universally boring.

Sigh... I was hoping for Riddler... I really was. Or Scarface. Scarface would have been amazing. And fairly easy to do. I'm very upset with the pick of Bane. Sadly, I always knew Catwoman would show up. Just thought it would be Rachel, not actually Selena Kyle. Oh well. Hope Nolan knows what he's doing.

I'm not the least bit surprised about Catwoman, she's one of Batman's most well-known foes and is most definitely someone who fits with Nolan's version of Gotham. She doesn't have any powers and everything she does is pretty much feasible, barring some insane gadgetry. I don't really see why a cat-suit would be unsuitable for these films, I mean the main character himself dresses like a bat. How is a woman dressing like a cat any sillier?

Though I was not expecting Bane. Not because he's necessarily un-suitable for these films (Though I'd imagine Nolan is still going to have to take some creative liberty where venom is involved), but because he's a rather obscure villain. But then again, so were Ra's and Scarecrow, to a degree.

I trust Nolan enough to think that he has a reason for picking these two, even if I don't know what it is. Who knows how his mind works anyway. Oh, right, everyone who saw Inception...

Anyway, I liked Burton's Catwoman best. Sure, she was goofy -like everything Burton does- but there was a definite air of undeniable sexiness and coolness around her that worked without making her slutty.

erm:I think both Selina Kyle and Bane could be used as parallels to Batman's character. Two different takes on what Batman could have been, and two different explorations of the darker side of Wayne's motivations and purpose as Batman.

It would be interesting to see Bane done as a more extreme Batman (performance enhancing drugs and deliberately killing), especially if he was more effective at curbing crime than Bat, and Selina done as an extension of Batman's more selfish goals (whatever he does to fund his operations), and whether he is actually doing it for others or himself.

I'm worried about a major female character in a Nolan film too. Still, other films worry me much more in that dimension.

I assumed that is the route Nolan would go down. In the previous film, we got three kinds of justice; Batman as the angry vigilante, Dent as the optomistic pioneer of law, and Gordon as the ordinary cop in between (I think that's how Confused Matthew described it). It would be nice to see that sort of relationship set up again, only with batman as the one in the middle, and the two newcomers as the extremes.